Two prominent offstage figures in the theatre — Jack O'Brien and Thomas Schumacher — were honored March 6 with the unveiling of their caricatures that now grace the walls of Sardi's Restaurant.

Thomas Schumacher signs his caricature
Photo by Ben Strothmann

Director Jack O'Brien has won three Tony Awards, for his direction of The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray and Henry IV. He was Tony-nominated for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Invention of Love, The Full Monty, Two Shakespearean Actors and Porgy and Bess. Other Broadway directing credits include More to Love, Getting Away With Murder, Pride's Crossing, The Little Foxes, Damn Yankees, St. Louis Woman and The Most Happy Fella. O'Brien, who served as artistic director of San Diego's Old Globe for the last 26 years, passed the torch to Jerry Patch and Darko Tresnjak in January. Thomas Schumacher has been with the Walt Disney Company since 1988 and is currently president of their Buena Vista Theatrical Group. After serving as Disney's president of Feature Animation, where he supervised the development and production of 21 animated feature films, he shifted his energies toward live theatre. His Broadway producing credits include The Lion King (winner of six Tony Awards), Aida (winner of four Tony Awards), Tarzan, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid. In addition to noting his production credits, the caricature unveiling also served to celebrate Schumacher's new book, How Does the Show Go On?, a comprehensive introduction to theatre.

Below are some photos from the event held at the legendary Times Square eatery: